Time Riddles
by Wolfkins
Summary: Hogwarts student Pandora came across Tom Riddles journal, already a horcrux. Not knowing she attempted to return it, when both of their hands touched the journal Tom's soul is transferred to her body. They are one and she knows the evil now. Trying to hide from him in the rm of requirement she's thrust forward in time to the marauders era. Can they protect her when he follows?
1. Chapter 1

**Good eve, thanks for stopping by to read this little tease ;). But don't worry there will be more to come shortly. Warning: this won't follow the time line or story exactly because I'm me and I like to make some shit up. Hope you enjoy, please R&R.**

Once, twice, three times she paced back and forth, back and forth, desperately thinking of what she needed and coming up short. Don't fail me now, she silently pled, wringing her sweaty hands. And then suddenly the chiming of a clock broke into the silence of her mind. It startled Pandora out of her sleep deprived, worry filled stupor and she spun around with a squeak to face where the door to the room of requirement should have been. But instead of a door there stood a large grandfather clock almost twice the size of her body. But no, it was a door, there was something behind it, she could tell by the light filtering through it from within and meagerly lighting up the pitch black corridor. It was otherworldly, foggy with a mysterious green hue.

She'd never used the room before but from what others had said there was always a door, no one had ever mentioned a clock. Pandora's eyes searched the corridor fearfully, knowing that he wasn't far behind and she needed to hurry. Where else could she go that he wouldn't find her? So far there'd been no where he hadn't been able to follow, her dorm, the infirmary, the headmaster's office, he always found her. He even found her in her dreams, even when she took dreamless sleep. The young witch needed...well she didn't know precisely what she needed which was what had brought her to the room of requirement. It would know what she needed, all her friends had said so, even her potions professor had confessed spending many a quiet eve there.

And so with one last look to ensure he wasn't lurking Pandora threw herself into the clock door with reckless abandon.

It felt like pushing through a film of clingy plastic wrap at first but then she was falling and it was wrapped around her body like a shrinking wet blanket. The air was forced from her lungs and her head began spinning madly. Her eyes were darting but it was dark and light at the same time and they gained purchase on nothing. That's when the witch began to panic in earnest. She tried to scream but nothing more happened than an excruciating pain in her ribs, no sound, no intake of breath, just pain. Pandora began flailing her limps but only managed to further entangle herself in the plasticky enclosure and it tightened around her body. Down and down she went in a timeless plunge until finally with a blinding flash of white light another clock front came into view. And then it was hot, suffocatingly so, and her skin began to burn so hot she thought her blood would boil.

With a scream Pandora was catapulted through the clock. A flood of cold air shocked her senses and her eyes adjusted to the bright light just in time to careen into a bed of color.

And then blackness…


	2. Chapter 2

He almost didn't want to touch her, she looked so beautiful and serene like a porcelain doll, almost as if she'd just laid down and went to sleep. Her hair, red as the tulips she lay in, was spread out around her head like a halo. He had to touch her though because she hadn't responded to any of his soft calls and because he couldn't just leave her in the flowerbed unconscious. Slinging his satchel across his shoulders Regulus knelt down beside the girl and gently shook her, hand tentatively on her arm.

"Miss." he said softly, trying not to draw the attention of several students meandering by.

After a few more shakes her eyelids began to flutter and she made a low groan. Several more shakes and more eye flutters, giving him little glimpses of the magnificent green irises beneath and then her hand slowly lifted to touch his own.

"Hey there." he cooed when her eyes peeled open and looked up at him, though hazy and a bit unfocused.

For a long moment her body stiffened, hand clamping down on his, and her eyes suddenly sharpened and began darting around madly. She took in the surroundings, the overcast sky above, the fragrant flowers of the garden to her sides and then to Regulus where she froze with something like fear in her eyes. Pandora didn't quite know what to think as she stared up at the boy hovering over her. Was this one of Tom's knights sent to fetch her? No, she knew most of them and he didn't look at all familiar. She took a deep breath to calm herself and began to take stock of the situation. Her body ached fiercely but nothing felt broken when she moved her limbs experimentally.

"Are you alright?" he asked softly, grey eyes intently trying to read her own.

"I...I think so. Where am I?"

Regulus smiled a little more confidently seeing that she could move unhindered and helped the witch to slowly sit up.

"You must have fainted or something. You're in the front garden."

Saying it out loud he sort of wondered what had truly happened to the girl, had someone attacked her? She was lying on her back in the middle of the garden and if she'd just fainted dead away she couldn't have been standing at the edge like a normal observer. It was odd, to say the least but he held his tongue, not wanting to barrage her with questions instantaneously.

"The garden." she repeated with an astounded look on her pallid face.

"Perhaps we should take you up to the infirmary." he suggested, taking her hand.

Pandora's mind was reeling, how had she gotten to the garden? The last thing she remembered was the room of requirement and it had been late at night, way past curfew but it was now daytime. The clock...had it shifted her back a few hours? No, that was impossible, there was no such thing as time shifting. Well, it was a widely discussed theory but no one had actually figured it out. Had she been dazed and stumbled outside in a stupor?

The boy grasped her elbows and helped Pandora to her feet, putting his arm around her waist for support when she stumbled a bit. It was highly improper but she didn't balk, feeling as if she may fall over without his help.

"Are you ok to walk?"

The girl nodded and smiled, looking impossibly paler as Regulus began leading her towards the school entrance. Several students passed giving them a wide berth as if the girl was diseased but he paid them no heed as he helped her up the stairs. As the pair reached the top Pandora looked up towards the entrance doors where a large banner was swaying in the gentle breeze. What she read made her blood run cold and her heart stopped for a beat.

Welcome Back Class of 1977!

"1977."

Regulus barely heard her whisper before she crumpled like a ragdoll.

* * *

"Where again did you say you found her Mr. Black?" Madam Pomfrey asked for about the hundredth time as he stared at the unconscious girl on the hospital bed.

"In the garden." he replied absently, holding her hand and rubbing his thumb across the back of it.

"I don't recognize her at all." the nurse commented as she hovered her wand up and down the length of her patients' body. "And yet she's wearing a uniform, though it looks a bit out of date."

Regulus hadn't even noticed earlier but her uniform and robes were fashioned a bit differently than what he was used to.

"This is most strange." the nurse was tutting. "Calista!" she called over her shoulder and a young medi-witch came running. "Go and fetch Professor Dumbledore. We may need to call the ministry. Do you know her?" Pomfrey turned her attention back to Regulus when the witch ran off to obey.

The ministry? He didn't know why but the thought of them removing her made his heart thump anxiously, he'd barely even gotten to speak with her. What if she'd ended up at Hogwarts trying to run away from somewhere? And what were they going to do, send her back to where she'd run from or worse yet just stick her somewhere? The ministry did that sometimes and those people were never heard from again. Regulus felt an overwhelming urge to protect the little garden angel.

"She's my families' ward!" he blurted out before having had a chance to think about the repercussions of blatantly lying.

"What's her name dear?" she asked nicely, although she seemed a might miffed that he hadn't said so before.

"Seraphim." he breathed, thinking of how she'd looked in the garden with her hair spread out like a halo.

"Seraphim what?" she quizzed absently, wand hovering over his "wards" head.

Fuck! What should he name her? He tried to think of an uncommon name so that she wouldn't be traced to a supposed family member until he could figure out who she really was. But what if there was family looking for her and he'd just fucked it all up? Regulus' stomach roiled a bit at the thought that he may be hindering her by trying to protect her. But it was too late now.

"Gaunt." he said at last. The Gaunts were purebloods and there were very few of them left, so hopefully no one would question it…

Oh gods, what had he gotten himself into? He'd have to owl his parents and beg them to take her in before anyone found out that they hadn't. Sirius...shit...he would have to explain to his brother what he'd done. But to convince him to go along with it? That was going to be impossible! Why had he done that?

"Well she seems alright, no injuries that I can see. Has she been stressed with the move?"

The move? His mind floundered for a moment before remembering that she would have just moved in with them as a ward because she clearly hadn't been at Hogwarts before. Regulus would need to sit down later and think of a back story, perhaps Seraphim would even help. Oh god, how was he going to explain his actions to her? She was going to think him mad.

Before he could answer, Professor Dumbledore came shuffling in, calm as ever. As calm as he was though he still scared the young man witless and sent his heart into palpitations. Would the wizard see right through him?

"Oh professor, I'm glad you're here." the nurse said fondly, tucking her wand into her apron. "Mr. Black found Miss Gaunt unconscious in the gardens."

Dumbledore looked between Regulus and his angel for several nerve wracking moments as if trying to discern if this were the truth or not.

"I don't know a Miss Gaunt." he said thoughtfully as he stroked his long white beard. "I know all the new students."

"She's our ward." Regulus insisted, trying not to squirm beneath the scrutiny of his clear blue eyes. "Today was to be her first day."

"Indeed?" he asked, raising his brows.

The boy nodded firmly.

"You didn't get the owl?" he was going to hell, definitely hell without stop.

"I'm afraid not Mr. Black."

Did Dumbledore believe him? Regulus couldn't tell and he felt sweat beading on his forehead.

"I have a copy of the letter in my dorm sir, I can fetch it later if you'd like." he offered with a bright smile. "I really don't want to leave Sera right now though." when had he become a pathological liar?

It took some doing but somehow he managed to convince a very skeptical Dumbledore that she'd just joined their family three days before, after a tragedy with her own. He provided very little detail on the tragedy stating that it was very raw for Sera and she didn't like to talk about it, let alone have everyone know. Her uniform, he explained, looked strange because it was his mother's old one and that she truly did belong. Of course he would have to produce the letter when she was feeling better…

But then the wizard was talking about sorting and where to have her sleep and what classes she would be in and he thought it would be good to have them in some classes together for support. Would he help her get a new uniform and everything she needed? Regulus assured him that he would make sure Seraphim had everything in place and by nothing less than a miracle the professor was convinced...or at least he seemed convinced. One never knew with that man. The young wizard's head was aching something fierce.

And then a thought hit him as the wizard shuffled off, what if she wasn't even a witch?


	3. Chapter 3

Pandora found him in the common room on her way to potions class, as always surrounded by admirers. Tom was nice enough and was extremely well liked but something had always seemed off to her. There was a practiced grace to his smile and though he tried he never seemed to be able to master that in his cold eyes. Yes, the head boy was most definitely not what he strived to appear. She didn't know what he was, had never seen any overt cruelty but neither had he displayed any warmth. And so Pandora had tried to time this when she had to be somewhere, good morning, here's your book, good day..the end!

Tom smiled when she approached and his circle opened slightly to accept her, though several girls shot her daggers. She smiled sweetly at their pinched faces, eyes sparkling with a dash of mischief. Pandora's devious side loved that they were stupid enough to be jealous of any approaching girl.

"Lady Pandora." he greeted regally.

The ravenclaw smiled brightly in return. If he sensed that she disliked his strange affection the conversation would drag on and he would follow her, like the first time they met, to understand why. Pandora couldn't relate whatsoever to his need to be adored by all, including their professors, but who was she to judge?

"Good morning Mr. Riddle." he seemed to adore the formality. "I found this yesterday and I believe it's yours?"

She pulled the leather bound book from her satchel for his inspection. For a moment, a split second his eyes bulged and his smile faltered, then it was back just like that, mask secured.

"How kind." he replied diplomatically and reached out to take it.

Fantastic, terrific, she was on her way! Except...the moment his fingers brushed the leather something happened. A literal spark snapped from his fingertips, diving beneath the leather cover of the book. Then suddenly it arced out the other side and into her own fingers. Both recipients hissed in pain and dropped the book, but as it fell, pages fluttering open, something silver quivered its way out. It seemed to hover in midair for a moment, undulating like a heart. Pandora looked to Tom almost for an explanation but he looked as horrified and confused as she felt. Before she could utter a word the silver, crescent shaped thing went shooting towards her chest and hit her with such force that she dropped on the spot like a discarded rag doll.

A blinding flash of light and then darkness…

* * *

Regulus nearly leapt from his skin when Seraphim bolted upright on her cot, eyes wide open but unseeing, and gasping for air. He did however leap from his chair and knelt beside the cot. He gently grasped her upper arms to help ground her, to show her that she'd left the dream world and wasn't alone.

"I'm here, you're ok." he whispered, unspeakably grateful that Madam Pomfrey had scuttled off several minutes earlier.

Pandora blinked rapidly until the silver crescent faded from view and was replaced by a young man with shaggy black hair and steel-blue eyes. A relieved sigh escaped her lips and he smiled, also looking relieved. The pain in her chest began to subside and even though she was back in the infirmary, Tom was not with her. Before she had a chance to speak or ask anything or adjust, they heard squeaky footsteps coming their way.

"Your name is Seraphim Gaunt." he whispered urgently, eyes widening. "I'll explain everything later, I promise."

He quickly slipped back into his chair as a medium height, rosy cheeked woman rounded the curtain partitioning off her cot.

"Well there you dear." the nurse declared, clasping her hands together in a prayer-like manner. "How are you feeling?"

Pandora smiled in order to cover the maelstrom of confusion brewing in her mind. Where was she, had that banner really said what she thought it said, who was the boy beside her and why was he calling her Seraphim?

"Much better, thank you." if you ignored the splintering ache in her head and the precarious roiling in her belly.

"Good, good. My name is Madam Pomfrey dearie." the nurse told Pandora as she pulled her ivory colored wand and began scanning her head to toe. After a few minutes of quiet concentration Pomfrey smiled and returned the wand to her apron. "Everything looks good Ms. Gaunt. If you're ready, I'm fine with you leaving. I'm sure you have a lot of settling in to do."

Pandora almost snorted at that, settling? There was no settling until she figured things out and the most important of all, if she was somehow in 1977 where was Tom? She assured the nurse that she was ready and allowed her new friend to lead her out. When they reached the bustling hallway he turned to her as he pulled his wand.

"May I?" he asked, linking her arm in his.

When Seraphim nodded her consent Regulus flicked his wand and apparated them to the far side of the Hogwarts grounds. They had a lot to discuss and then he would have to get to work. He'd made a mental list whilst she was sleeping, owl and beg his parents, hunt Sirius down and beg him to go along with this insane farce, and figure out the mystery that was his new companion. After that he'd have to get her settled in her room and tomorrow they'd have to travel to Hogsmeade to gather the supplies she needed.

Reg had always been able to get a good feel for others, whether they were well intentioned and if they were honest. Regardless, he found himself truly hoping that he hadn't made a mistake with this stranger. He had a feeling that she would be sticking around, she had been wearing the uniform afterall, but what if she had family nearby and he'd made a complete mess of the entire situation?

Pandora sat primly beside the small lake, the sun setting off in the distance, with her legs curled to the side beneath her. Regulus sat a short distance from her, legs criss crossed beneath him, butterflies fluttering restlessly in his stomach.

"I suppose an explanation is in order." he began, surprising the witch. She had anticipated him requiring some answers from her first, answers that she either didn't know or wouldn't want to share, there were some of both.

"I would be grateful."

He smiled nervously, fingers plucking at the grass absently.

"We didn't know who you were and Pomfrey started talking about calling the ministry and, well I panicked a bit. I didn't know if you had family or what had happened to bring you here and the ministry, well I didn't want them to cart you off."

Seraphim's eyes softened at his admission and she sighed so sweetly that Regulus instantly knew he'd done the right thing.

"I sort of told Professor Dumbledore that you were my families' ward because a tragedy had befell your own." he continued. "I'll have to owl my parents to make this official and probably bribe my brother… Please tell me I haven't fouled everything up."

Pandora was completely dumbstruck by the lengths this stranger had gone to protect her. She didn't know why he had and was both deeply touched and scared to death by it. How was she going to explain what she thought had happened, would he even believe her? Her parents were probably dead but even if they weren't she couldn't go running home to them. It would probably do more harm than good because if the banner was correct it had been over thirty years. She still wasn't sure what had truly happened, perhaps it was just an elaborate hoax or a dream. As far as she knew time travel was impossible, there had to be another explanation.

"I think you've saved my arse more than you realize. I can't thank you enough." The wizard's body slumped with relief at her words. " My real name is Pandora, by the way."

"I'm Regulus." he reached out a hand to shake her small dainty one and smiled. "Where, if you don't mind my asking, did you come from?"

Pandora hesitated for so long that he thought she might not answer, making him wonder how horrid a place she'd escaped. Something like fear clouded her lovely visage, disappearing so swiftly he almost doubted seeing it and may have been convinced that he hadn't if her body hadn't shuddered violently.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." she at last whispered, head dropping to stare down at the ground.

"I have no reason to think you'd lie." he countered.

Regulus was well aware that there was always a chance she was deceiving him, that he really had no reason to trust her but somehow he did.

"I...I…" the young witch floundered, inexplicably torn between giving him the truth he deserved and fearing that he would think she was lying and abandon her. "I can't tell you everything, not yet, not until I figure out if what I think happened happened. But what I can say is that I ended up here fleeing someone evil, truly evil and I don't think I belong here."

Regulus frowned and shook his head in confusion. He badly wanted answers, wanted to know who Pandora was but he wasn't going to push. As he'd feared, whatever happened must have been quite traumatic. Where did she come from that she didn't think she belonged there?

Pandora felt a sharp pang of guilt, she wanted to spill her guts and tell him everything, he had clearly put himself on the line for her and deserved to know. But she needed to figure out the truth first.

"I swear Regulus that I will tell you everything. I owe you everything for your valiant deeds, I'd be lost without you."

Her bright eyes twinkled when they met his own and Regulus almost melted.

"I understand and I'll do whatever I can to help you."

She mustered a sad smile sensing his disappointment but grateful that he wasn't pushing her or just flat out walking away.

"Thank you Regulus." the witch suddenly shifted and threw her arms around him, hugging tightly. Regulus was stunned for a moment, unused to the affections of girls, but wrapped his arms around her just the same. Sadly it was over far faster than he would have liked and she pulled away blushing fiercely. Why had she hugged him? For the first time she actually wondered what someone thought of her and felt a pinch of worry that it would be poorly.

"Valiant." he chuckled a little at the thought of himself as some brave knight.

No one had ever called him that, most of the girls he knew thought he was weird and awkward. They weren't wrong, he spent most of his time with his nose in a book or trying to keep up with the others in quidditch.

"You are!" she insisted, cheeks growing impossibly hotter.

Valiant, he liked that.


	4. Chapter 4

"Are you out of your fucking mind?!" had been the first question to cross his lips, delivered the instant his little brother finished his story.

Then he'd demanded to see for himself the girl that had turned his straight laced, dorky brother into a ridiculous schemer. Sirius was loathe to admit it and would never divulge this, but Reg's actions sort of reminded him of himself, a fool for the ladies. Although trying to convince their parents to take on a ward was way further than he'd ever gone. Of course the idea wasn't so bad when you considered having a pretty girl under the same roof as you. He couldn't picture his brother being ballsy enough to sneak out at night for a rendezvous though.

He walked side by side with his brother and one of his best friends, Remus, towards the back gardens where the mystery girl was waiting. He exchanged a glance with Remus as they descended the last set of moving stairs and rolled his eyes. Sirius didn't quite know what to expect but an overprotective brotherly part of him was ready to give this Seraphim a piece of his mind for taking advantage of Regulus. Remus seemed to sense his mounting tension and offered a smile and a shrug as if to say, wait and see.

"Do you really think mum is going to go for this?" Sirius asked skeptically as they set off across the lawn.

"I'm positive I'll be able to convince her."

Regulus didn't feel nearly as confident as he let on but it was best not to let Sirius know that. His brother already thought he was mad as it was and he may have been right. Regulus had written a three page impassioned plea to his parents the night before with the help of Pandora, who had turned out to be a gifted writer. Even if his parents said no, he still had months to go before they'd be going home for break, which he would use to wear them down.

Sirius snorted in reply but managed to supress his eye roll, of course he'd be able to convince mum, he was the fucking golden child.

"Ah, there she is." Reg said, pointing towards the garden to their left.

Seraphim turned around when she heard Reg's voice and Remus stopped short with a sharp intake of breath.

"That's her?" he asked quietly, eyes wide. He blushed brightly and hastened on, thankful the others hadn't noticed. "She's beautiful." he breathed so softly the others didn't hear. Remus couldn't help but admire how lovely she looked with the sun at her back shining on her red hair and illuminating the small smattering of freckles on her cheeks and nose.

"Seraphim, this is my older brother Sirius and his friend Remus." he told the witch, pointing to each boy in turn.

"It's really nice to meet you." she took each boy's hand in turn and smiled brightly.

The larger of the two, Remus, held her hand a bit longer than was socially acceptable, at least in Pandora's time, but she couldn't bring herself to care. He was so ruggedly handsome with his short, messy hair and forest green eyes, a scruffy beard adorning his face that she couldn't concentrate on much else. He hadn't said much, just repeated her name softly, but his shyness was rather charming.

"So what's your goal here?" Sirius demanded, a little annoyed that his best friend was drooling over the mystery girl.

He'd expected a dowdy little thing, dirty, shy and in need of help, probably a little pudgy and needy but she wasn't any of those things. Besides the strange story Reg had told him, the only odd thing about her was her uniform. It was new and in good shape but looked old fashioned, like something he'd see in pictures of his parents.

"Sirius!" both boys exclaimed at the same moment, but he was unperturbed.

"No, it's ok. He's just trying to look out for you Regulus and I can't fault you there." she said turning to face Sirius. He looked down at her cooly, arms crossed over his chest and waited. "I don't have a goal, I just need somewhere to stay and your brother was kind enough to offer. I'm not trying to get anything from you, it's just that, well I have no family, nothing."

Pandora knew her explanation wasn't going to be enough for the skeptical, hawk eyed Black but there was likely nothing he would believe anyway...even the truth. She just needed time to piece out what had happened before divulging anything to anyone. But when she did figure it out Regulus would, of course, be the first to know.

Remus kept feeling his eyes slip back to Sera and kept forcing them to look back at the ground. He couldn't help it though, he sensed a kindred spirit in the girl, a sadness that matched his own but also the same type of fierceness that he'd scrounged up with the help of his friends. There was more though, something that felt familiar, though he couldn't put his finger on it, and it was intriguing.

He leaned in towards his friend and whispered "Give her a break, yeah? I think there's more to this than we know."

Sirius considered his companion for a moment. Remus was painfully shy and tortured by his own set of demons, but that strife had given him an innate sense about others. He seemed to know who he could and couldn't trust. But even though Sirius believed in him, Seraphim just didn't fit the profile she was putting forth. He would never, ever say it aloud but Sirius was feeling fiercely protective of his little brother, something a little new and uncomfortable to him. Regulus wasn't good with girls and he would hate to see his heart broken by her deception. And what kind of name was Seraphim?

"Sirius…" Regulus sighed in frustration. He wanted to curse his brother out for his disrespect towards Pandora but if his plan was going to work he needed Sirius' cooperation. "At least trust that I know what I'm doing. This was all my idea, not Seraphim's."

"I hope you know what you're doing." he met his brother's eyes, identical to his own, and relented at the determination he saw there. "But I'm watching you." he warned, eyes turning on the witch.

* * *

It had been two days but still he could feel her magic lingering in the air and it felt right, it made him feel whole. He needed Pandora back, she was part of him now, a literal piece of him, and he was finding it most difficult to let go. Tom dreamt of her at night and longed for her during every waking hour. It wasn't about a desire for a lover or a little crush, it was a need, his chest literally ached when she wasn't near. He would do anything to reclaim her.

Tom had looked high and low, had his knights out searching round the clock. His female followers had been staking out the Ravenclaw dorms and found that her bed hadn't been slept in, nor had her friends heard from her. There was a whisper amongst the teachers, one he was privy to due to his head boy status, that Pandora had been absconded with but there was no proof of any sort. She wasn't just the type of girl to run away. He knew her parents had been contacted but even his charm hadn't allowed him access to what that had come to. So then he began to wonder, where would an extremely smart witch like Pandora have gone? How had she just vanished without a trace? But when that led him nowhere he'd snuck into her dorm and dug into her many spell books as he breathed in the fading scent of her on her sheets and clothes. After an exhausting amount of research he'd finally come across a little number called 'appare vestigium', which led him right to this door.

How had he not thought to go to the room of requirement first?!

Brilliant.

Tom cleared his mind of everything but his need for Pandora and began pacing back and forth in front of the door, once, twice, thrice. Eyes closed, he paused for a moment to take a deep breath and collect himself. When he reopened his dark eyes it was to a greenish fog floating ethereally around his person. In awe, Tom waved his hands through the fog watching it shift and swim in the darkness. A wisp of fog caught his eye and he followed it upwards, entranced, and right up into the face of the clock. A crooked little smile crept over his pale lips, the wolf had found his fox.


End file.
